Deadly blessings from Covid curse

 

 2021/08/7

Rishard Bathiudeen must be having some relief, and also some comfort in the detention cell he is held in. It is not due to the huge shouting rivalry in Parliament about him. But because the rapidly twisting police probes into the death of the domestic servant in his home, that dominated most media for weeks, have moved to the Delta variant of Covid-19, striking the country and people with much more impact than the alleged child abuse police probe, which also has signs of slapstick.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa also needs congratulations for his recent call to officials to ensure that all Sri Lankans are vaccinated. That certainly is national leadership, in a situation of crisis, largely due to the huge blunders of key persons in his own government.

Apart from the daily rising deaths, vaccination is the word of the moment. Those in government are now taking pride, with supportive headlines and loud cheers, about the country reaching a 10 percent vaccination of the population. With much effort to forget that our population is more than 20 million!

Are we to forget Cabinet Ministers of this government, including the Health Minister, stating in Parliament that making arrangements to carry out vaccinations against this pandemic is not important, not urgent, and possibly not necessary, too?

Did such delays not contribute to the Covid Crisis and Tragedies we are now facing?

Should we look at parliamentary privilege when recalling how the Dhammika Paniya, that anti-Covid syrup, was promoted by the Health Minister herself, and the Speaker of Parliament, too. That it was a syrupy promotion of the Covid virus, now the bitter reality of life to a hugely threatened population.

Can we forget how that vadu-vedamahatmaya who produced this syrup got so angry when members of the Sangha prevented him from making an offering of it to the Sri Maha Bodhi?

Do we also not recall how the Health Minister Pavithra Waniarachchi herself, as well as the Minister of Tourism Prasanna Ranatunga and Minister of Energy and Petroleum Udaya Gammanpila, took those mantra-powered pots of liquid and dumped them into rivers, with such fervent hope in their power to defeat the Covid Saapaya or Curse?

The President is certainly making headlines with the rise in vaccinations, and his visits to some of the vaccination centres, especially well managed by the Army. Such cause for pride and joy apart, where are we in reality today?

The government certainly has much hope that it’s Vaccinator Fight against the Covid demon will make it the victor in other battles, too. The big battle of today is that of the teachers and school principles. The Saubhagyaye Dekma of the President and the SLPP certainly do not see any need to ensure any Saubhagya, or even limited prosperity, to the teaching profession. The demands of the teachers may have issues for debate. But they have dragged on for too long, and the size of the current protests certainly calls for a good governmental response, and not to hide it away for yet another government.

The other issue that has raised many alarm bells is that of the Kotelawala Defence University. Providing a good higher education facility for the armed forces, is not a matter at issue. It is a must. But, how much should this affect the wider and larger national policies of Higher Education? The mounting protests have certainly made the government take this issue away from the parliamentary debate, scheduled for this week.

Is this delay the acceptance of reality on key issues affecting higher education, or just another political delay, for it to be taken up once the Covid Crisis has moved away? Let’s hope it is not so.

There are other issues too – such as the call for fertilisers by the agricultural community, and the major threats to the economy with the lack of suitable fertilisers for the tea and other agro-industries. There are some signs of a change in the Gotabhaya Special Fertiliser Policy. Is this a show of the Gota – Basil divergence, that shows a new power play in the Rajavasala Pavula?

As the Delta variant of Covid-19 hits us hard and pushes the people into a disaster that could have been avoided, if good politics and governance prevailed; isn’t it time to look at the need for good thinking on the system of governance in Sri Lanka?

Should we have a system that can carry on for more than two decades on a policy dealing with the income of teachers? Should we have a system where Free Education is far removed from what it was when introduced by the late CWW Kannangara – and the politics of that age? Should we not think of the serious changes certainly needed to the very system of University Education, with genuine service to the people and country?

These are the real calls of the mass protests that are now being threatened by the Covid Curse.

Amidst this curse, there is also the need for urgent action to fight and destroy the forces that encourage the use of child labour, especially of girls, of a largely powerless minority ethnic community in the plantation sector.

As much as the President has called for good action to achieve Vaccination Immunity from the Covid pandemic, let’s hope the President and all government leaders, as well as the Opposition, give good thought to these other burning issues before the country.

Such good political thinking could be a blessing to Sri Lanka, from those who suffer and die in hospitals and homes today from the Covid Delta surge.

With three deaths every hour, there will certainly be a hugely deadly blessing to bring this country to modern and scientific thinking and living. The Sad Reality of Today.